The Quest for Renewal and the Religious Life
There is a paradox at the heart of the practice of religion. Religion is designed to produce rich experiences of spirituality both individually and in communities—experiences that are often...
View ArticleOn the Spiritual Joy of Academic Work
(Adapted from comments I shared recently with the College of Humanities at BYU) Grading, I am convinced, is a circle in hell. And maybe an even deeper circle in hell is dealing with student complaints...
View ArticleLed by Revelation
It is a clear and central tenet of Mormon belief that we are led by revelation, by living prophets. It is less clear perhaps to everyone what this means. I know it probably baffles many of my academic...
View ArticleMy Journey as a Scholar of Faith, Part I
I was invited by the Faculty Center to share my journey as a scholar of faith. I share here, in three parts, the content of the talk. I have wrestled with my feelings these past few weeks because I am...
View ArticleMy Journey as a Scholar of Faith, Part II
My first experiences with criticism, compassion and charity were in family life at home. As Mormons, we lived as a very small minority outside of New York. We were taught to love human diversity and...
View ArticleMy Journey as a Scholar of Faith, Part III
I wouldn’t have gone to Stanford, majored in Comparative Literature, or taken my career path as a professor without my brother Bill’s example, encouragement, and brilliance that lighted every step of...
View ArticleThe Gift of Friendship
I can remember my mother’s boisterous laugh when I was a little boy. I can remember my older brothers teasing me at the ripe age of five about a girl I liked who lived next door. I remember us...
View ArticleOn Disagreements at Church
Tone can make a great difference in how effectively we communicate, especially when we are trying to offer correction or criticism. We might be right and we might have the truth on our side, but if we...
View ArticleLiterature and the Art of Friendship
I didn’t ever expect that in 2016 we would be struggling as a nation with the very idea of the universal brotherhood of God’s family. Of course, I expected that we would still have difficulty rising up...
View ArticleObedience as Gratitude
(This is a talk I gave at this year’s Women’s Conference at Brigham Young University.) For Thanksgiving each of us in the family has to make a pie—because you can never have too many pies—and this year...
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